Living with the consequences
by Sairs J
Summary: Whatever the consequences were of the choices she made, she wasn't alone anymore.


I recently discovered Flashpoint and I thought I'd dip my toe into Flashpoint fanfiction.

I do not own any of the characters from Flashpoint.

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Living witht the consequences.

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Looking through the scope was like travelling through a tunnel, all the surrounding confusion and hubbub of the world melted away. The only important thing now was who the scope focused on; a human being in the worst moments of their life. Their world shattered around them, sending them into a situation where they couldn't see a way out, without using violence.

That's why she was here with her team; trying to find the best solution to a terrible situation. They were the last resort.

The scope was her tool that she had come to rely on when she was in Sierra position. To help her and her team find solutions to the situations they faced daily in their work.

When she was focused there was nothing else in the world that mattered. In that moment she concentrated on her breathing and what she could see through the scope. She listened for the word that made a difference to the person she could see through the scope and the innocent people who were caught up in the situation.

She couldn't form a personal opinion on what was happening; she had to remain focused on the role that she had to play. The part that she was designated to perform. The person through her scope at that moment couldn't be someone's child, or brother or sister; at that single moment that person was the one who was going to cause someone else to die. She couldn't have any feelings about the situation, she had to remain calm, remain focused on her role. If she pulled the trigger she would be ending the situation. It was the worst possible solution, but sometimes it couldn't be avoided. It was the only solution.

Her eye focused on the movement of the target, she altered her movements to keep the target in her sights. She could hear Parker negotiating with the subject, attempting to deescalate the situation, she could hear her other team mates acknowledging their position.

She watched.

She waited.

"Scorpio," the word vibrated through her ear piece.

Without hesitation her finger depressed the trigger, the sound of the bullet ejecting from her rifle echoing and reverberating through the air. Her focus through the scope never wavered in the seconds it took for her bullet to find its target. She watched as the subject slumped to the floor, her team mates securing the area and Parker reporting that the situation was over.

But it wasn't over.

It wasn't over for the family the subject left behind. Family would be bathed with grief and disbelief that this person had reached a point of no return, which they would probably never understand. Their lives were irrecoverably changed the second she pulled the trigger.

It wasn't over for the people who had been held hostage. They would be frightened; scared of the world in a way they had never been before. They would have to move on with their life knowing that they had survived a terrible situation, having witnessed something most people could never or want to imagine.

It wasn't over for her, either. She would spend the next few hours interrogated by someone who would probably never truly understand her role. They would insist that there must have been another solution to the situation and that she made a mistake in firing. She understood the need for the interrogation, but sometimes she wanted to forget, forget that she'd ended a life in an instant. She wanted to walk away to her normality, to where she felt safe. But it was her job. She chose this and she had never wanted anything else. She was good at it and she couldn't imagine doing anything else. This was her life. And with every choice there were consequences.

Slowly she rose to her feet, laying her rifle on the floor, knowing that it would be bagged and tagged for evidence. She waited. Within minutes she was being escorted from the rooftop, unable to communicate with her team mates, the ones that truly understood what was going through her mind in those moments after the Scorpio order was executed.

She was led to a large SUV, where she would be driven back to headquarters for the interrogation to begin.

Another day, another life ended.

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She walked up the path to her house, a small smile gracing her lips as she saw the warmth of the light bathing the garden from her living room window. She unlocked the door and walked inside, hanging her jacket up and dropping her bag on the floor. She sauntered into the kitchen where she was greeted by a delicious smell.

"Hey," she stated quietly, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

Slowly he turned, a look of concern mixed with relief on his face, "You okay?" he asked tentatively.

She nodded, walking over to the stove to examine what he was cooking, "Pasta?"

He grinned, "Didn't think I could mess that up."

She returned his smile, "Guess we'll find out when we eat it."

He reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes studying her, watching for any sign or hint that she wasn't fine.

She leaned into his touch, his words echoing in her mind from a few years ago, 'it gives you something to shoot for,' he had been right. You needed someone to shoot for, to come home to. He had become home for her. She hoped she was his home too. The best thing about them though, was that he understood; he knew what it was like to pull the trigger, to end someone's life. He didn't need to ask her about her day, he was there; he had been just as involved as she had. He knew she didn't want to talk; she just wanted to be home.

Tonight was different. Tonight she couldn't push the images from her mind. The images from the scope. The interrogation had intensified the memories, the young girl scared that she had nothing to live for, nothing to go home to. She had lost everything as far as she was concerned.

The girl's situation had hit home with Jules; she once had been that girl, her mother dead; her father blaming himself, her brothers living their lives. She had felt so alone, then she had found friends, well she thought they had been her friends, but they hadn't been. Those girls had spotted a need in her and utilised it, she had been naive and had welcomed their friendship, following them with little thought about how their behaviour impacted on others. Eventually she had realised that they were causing nothing but pain to others, through their words and actions that in the end she decided that she didn't want to live her life like that.

She was better than that. She wanted her mother to be proud of her, even if she couldn't see it. So she had made a decision, she was going to be stronger and help others. So she'd joined the police force, excelling and finally finding her place. She'd been thrilled when she'd been accepted to join the SRU and after initial teething problems, she'd found her family, her home.

He'd walked into her life and changed everything again. True their first meeting had been a little unusual; she had pulled her weapon on him when he'd shown up in the middle of a scene. Their first meeting had been central to Greg's speech at their wedding, highlighting that event as the moment when he realised there was trouble ahead, that he had a feeling that Sam and Jules would be more than teammates, more than friends and at their wedding he'd celebrated that knowledge.

They'd ignored the rules twice. The first time had shown her what she could have with Sam, but she hadn't been ready for it. She wanted, no needed her job. It was the one constant in her life and she couldn't imagine not being with Team One, she'd found the months after her injury lonely and frustrating. She had learned that she needed to be a part of Team One and she'd sacrificed her future with him.

But the feelings hadn't gone away. However hard she tried to box them up, move on, she couldn't. She cared about him and eventually realised that she needed him in her life as much as if not more than her job. Slowly her perspective had changed. She needed him. He was the reason now that she could do her job. He was the reason she wanted to come home at night. He was her world.

"Hey," his voice cut through her thoughts.

She felt his hand begin to rub comforting circles on her back, she looked up and met his eyes, she tried to smile, but knew it didn't reach her eyes.

"You did what you had to."

She nodded, unable to speak.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, before enveloping her in his embrace.

She rested her head on his chest, her ear listening to the comforting repetitive thud of his heart. She linked her hands behind his back, savouring the warmth and comfort of this moment in time. She felt the pain of the day begin to ebb away, knowing that when the nightmares came that night, he'd hold her, comfort her, but never judge her. Just as she'd do the same for him.

They were in this together and she couldn't imagine her life being any different now.

Whatever the consequences were of the choices she made, she wasn't alone anymore. She was loved and she loved him and that was all that mattered.

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End file.
